Ezekiel 22:27-31

22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ¹  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ² 

22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. ³  22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, ⁴  declares the sovereign Lord.”

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¹ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

² tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”

³ tn Heb “I did not find.”

⁴ tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”